


Love Foolish

by trustmeallnight



Category: NU'EST
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Fluff, M/M, Minor Violence, Mutual Pining, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-03-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:41:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22951954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trustmeallnight/pseuds/trustmeallnight
Summary: “Fuck,” Dongho says to the white ceiling, he’s so fucking tired, “I love them, don’t I?”It isn’t hard to prove, because just a single thought of Minhyun holding onto his shoulder or Jonghyun feeding him a piece of candy gets his heart turning to sticky molasses and it tastes just a bit too sweet for him, loving two alphas. He loves them, he loves them, it’s so easy to say he loves exactly (one) Hwang Minhyun and (one) Kim Jonghyun.He loves Dongho, he loves Dongho, and Dongho loves them.Alternatively,he loves Dongho, he loves Dongho, and Dongho loves them.
Relationships: Hwang Minhyun/Kang Dongho | Baekho, Hwang Minhyun/Kang Dongho | Baekho/Kim Jonghyun | JR, Kang Dongho | Baekho/Kim Jonghyun | JR
Comments: 6
Kudos: 41
Collections: Spring Blessings (Nu'est 8th Anniversary Fic Fest)





	Love Foolish

**Author's Note:**

> woah my first fic fest and i had to be a degenerate and write omega verse
> 
> also this one's for u mins.. literally it's ur prompt ily

Jonghyun might be in love.

He sits on the couch, nervously wringing his hands and picking at a stray hangnail (even if he’s always told not to). The couch caves in to his weight, so he just disappears into the material and awkwardly bends his spine to accommodate the lumpy furniture. With his fingers twirling around and half-laying half-sitting, Jonghyun does not feel awfully welcomed in this studio.

The cramped waiting room is filled with only his manager and him, but it still feels a bit stifling to be in, even if the older man in the corner could not care less about him. He’s not sure why, but a crawling feeling travels along his arms and up his neck like insects on a trail. He shivers slightly just to shake the awful feeling off.

A motion catches the corner of his eye, and he whips his head up just in time to watch the bright red “RECORDING” sign turn mute gray. He breathes out a sigh; suddenly, the scratching feeling escapes the room.

There’s muffled conversation going on behind the door, and it irks Jonghyun when sentences keep getting churned out but no one steps out. It takes effort to push himself up from the caved in couch before he ends up at the door to the recording booth. His hand hovers above the door knob.

“--nice to see you again, Dongho. I really hope you can make it to lunch sometime.”

Two pairs of eyes suddenly meet his when the door swings open, and he just… freezes. 

Dongho’s head tilts when Jonghyun stands like a stone just in front of the door. He’s not sure  _ why _ he’s doing it, but it can’t be helped when Dongho opens his mouth to call his name.

“Jonghyun? What are you doing?”

It really does feel like they’re the only two in the room right now. Dongho just keeps staring and staring at him, and it’s almost like only two of them remain in the room. The manager behind him disappears for a moment, and all Jonghyun does is meet Dongho’s wide-eyed brown stare, and perhaps he feels like he’s in a romance movie when Dongho’s eyes sparkle under the artificial lighting.

“Jonghyun. Jonghyun-ah. Get out of the way.”

His eyes snap to the person next to Dongho, and it pains him when he can’t exactly shift his eyes to the side. No, he has to avert his gaze  _ up _ to meet Minhyun’s thinned eyes.

His muscles tense up unwillingly when they look at each other, and he desperately urges them to relax for Dongho. He doesn’t want to look so wild, so primitive, in front of the producer. It’s just embarrassing.

But,  _ fuck _ , does Jonghyun hate it when Minhyun minutely smirks, sensing the tiniest shift in movement when Jonghyun’s muscle go rigid, and puffs his chest up easily. If the bastard wasn’t taller than him, Jonghyun would’ve easily been the head, and Minhyun knows it.

Minhyun takes another infuriating look at Jonghyun before he turns to Dongho. The man is still standing there and observing the weird little showdown between the two of them, and it isn’t until Minhyun’s hand snakes around Dongho’s shoulder and pulls him in that Dongho actually seems to gain sense.

“So, how about it? Just some lunch,” Minhyun asks him. There’s a pondering look on Dongho’s face before a small smile breaks out on his face. 

“Yeah, okay,” Dongho replies. His face brightens a bit more until Jonghyun can spot the crinkles around his eyes folding so tightly. “Actually, I know the perfect place. A new dumpling place just opened a couple days ago. I’ll text you the address.” 

He looks so animated when he talks to Minhyun about their plans. The brief flashes of his cute front teeth hypnotize Jonghyun into staring at Dongho the whole time, even knowing he’s not talking to Jonghyun. 

Jonghyun doesn’t miss the starry-eyed look in Minhyun’s eyes either. He looks too fond, like they’re childhood friends and long time lovers. Perhaps it’s a parallel to Jonghyun himself, because he knows how it feels to soak up every second of Dongho. It’s magnetic.

And it kind of hurts the more they look at each other with stars drifting between their gazes. It’s Jonghyun who’s been crushing on Dongho ever since he was a small trainee and Dongho had just joined as an apprentice composer. It’s Jonghyun who took Dongho in and showed him how to navigate reality so soon, just barely in high school. 

It could be wrong to think it, but he can’t help but feel that Dongho is  _ his _ . So the more Minhyun smiles at Dongho like a fond memory, the more the suppressed anger boils like lava. It’s so uncomfortable, the faint cries of his alpha longing for who stands in front of him.

Jonghyun becomes incredibly furious as the conversation stretched into a valley. Even the tiny hairs on his arm begin to raise, he feels them brushing against his long sleeve. The tiniest grazes of Minhyun’s fingers on Dongho’s shoulder has him darting his eyes around like a lunatic, trying to zone in on their conversation and also standing on edge from Minhyun’s blatant lack of respect.

“Did you just  _ growl _ , Jonghyun?”

The amusing tone of Minhyun’s voice has the rumble in his chest deepen just that much further. The animal inside him begs him to snatch Minhyun’s hand away and teach the younger man how to respect him, but he’s absolutely not a depraved predator. Jonghyun digs his nails into his palms to try to calm the storming anger fueled in his chest.

“No,” Jonghyun tries to reply calmly, “I was clearing my throat.”

Minhyun can sniff right into his bullshit because the taller man just pulls Dongho in closer and lifts his chin up. Again, the lack of respect has Jonghyun emotionally holding himself back from snatching Dongho away from the younger man’s hold.

“Okay then. If you don’t mind,” Minhyun removes his hand (at which every muscle in Jonghyun’s being lets loose) and breezes past the both of them, “don’t forget to message me about it later.” Jonghyun doesn’t need to turn around to know the taller man’s cheeky, frankly ugly, grin is pasted right on his face.

Jonghyun rolls his eyes before straightening his back and facing the lone Dongho. He gulps when Dongho’s already facing towards him with a warm smile.

“Sorry about that, Jonghyun-ah. Minhyun just wanted to have lunch sometime.”

Jonghyun almost rolls his eyes but contains it. Even when he’s not there, that little shit Minhyun still manages to follow him.

“It’s fine,” Jonghyun tightly replies, ”I’m glad you guys are getting along.”

“Me too. He’s very nice,” Dongho says. The bright grin on his face loosens and it’s almost like he’s fond of something. “He reminds me of you.”

Oh.

“Well,” Jonghyun’s suddenly shy, “I did teach that brat to behave well.” Dongho’s small chuckle encourages him just a bit more.

“Ah. I almost forgot,” Dongho pipes up abruptly, “it’s your turn to record.”

Jonghyun nods before turning his back, spotting only his lone manager still occupied with his phone. Minhyun’s absent from the room, and it somehow eases the twisting butterflies in his stomach.

Dongho opens the door to the booth again, and beckons Jonghyun to enter before him. He’s grateful to step past Dongho, and it isn’t until his back faces Dongho does he notice it. Jonghyun hides the disgusted grimace on his face as he keeps walking towards the mic. 

_ It’s not just Dongho. It isn’t. He’s another alpha’s. Alpha. Fucking tear that bitch apart.  _

Jonghyun’s shaking fingers are gripped tight into a ball and shoved into his hoodie. The scent of Dongho, he’ll never forget it, lingers like a mist around him, but it’s Minhyun’s that washes over him like a bucket of ice water. 

_ It’s disgusting.  _

It’s disgusting. Minhyun’s usual cologne wafts through the air, and it’s like Jonghyun’s fucking showering in the damn thing. His throat becomes scratchy, and he knows if Dongho had the mic on right now, he’d hear the barely contained snarls rumbling through his chest. It’s even worse when Dongho’s scent intertwines and mingles with Minhyun’s, like they’re  _ bonded  _ or something.

_ Claim him for yourself or you’ll lose him to that bastard.  _

He should. Jonghyun should walk out right now, and throw himself over Dongho. That unblemished skin’s a canvas for his mouth. He needs to paint himself all over the man and force Dongho to drink in everything that is Jonghyun because--

_ He’s mine. _ He’s mine.

“Jonghyun-ah.”

HIs eyes lose the clouded gaze and settle on the man sitting down behind the glass window, earphone settled on his head and staring intently at Jonghyun. Jonghyun coughs slightly, clearing the pensive thoughts out of his head.

“Yeah, yeah, I got it,” Jonghyun says before picking up the headphones balanced on the microphone and slipping them on.

“Okay,” Dongho’s voice echoes through his ears and swarms through his mind, “whenever you’re ready.”

“I’m always ready,” he blurts out. Because he knows it applies to whatever. He almost giggles at it.

Dongho raises his eyebrow before hunching back over the soundboard. It tells Jonghyun to focus, and it’s through his pure focus that he quiets the clawing in his mind and turns to the music sheet.

* * *

Minhyun might be in love.

Minhyun hates being scolded. It’s embarrassing; him, a mature young man, hanging his head low while someone yells at him. He keeps his manners calm and stays respectful. He just simply hates being scolded. 

“Minhyun-ah, stop looking at your phone. You’re blinking too much,” his stylist warns him for the third time, her hand poised in the air with a brush full of brown eyeshadow. She looks irritated, and it’s something Minhyun always hoped to avoid, simply because she’s too nice to deal with crappy idols.

“Sorry…” He trails off, uncaring of the tiny scoff his stylist lets out when he once again dips his eyes back onto his phone.

He can’t help it. He’s just kind of irritated and jumpy now. 

“What’s so interesting that you can’t sit still for just a minute, hm?” The exasperated woman huffs and lays down the brush. The compact foundation is picked up instead.

Minhyun doesn’t respond. If his stylist were to be looking at his gaze right now, she’d be terrified. His eyes are narrowed and almost trembling with anger, and if he could, he would kill a certain someone with just his looks.

The stiff thumb scrolling through his Instagram hovers over his screen, his eyes barely fixated on the tiny  _ pockyjr _ before landing on the most disgusting pictures he’s ever seen.

“What the fuck is this,” Minhyun mutters in a low breath.

The series of pictures are Jonghyun, of course, and it’s not like Minhyun ever  _ cares _ when the rapper does post, but they’re Jonghyun and Dongho.

_ Dongho _ . His crush. Kang Dongho who squishes his cheek against Jonghyun’s while they smile for the camera. Baekho who slings an arm around Jonghyun and lets the rapper intertwine their fingers together. 

_ Minhyun’s omega flaunting off his new alpha right in front of him. _

Minhyun’s livid just sitting in his chair and gripping hard onto the plastic case of his phone. His eyes stay unblinking as he settles on each picture. 

The last video of the four part post plays the moment he swipes his thumb. It’s muted, and the angle is so fucked Minhyun can only see Jonghyun and the strikingly familiar figure twirling around next to the dancer. Jonghyun’s sickenly sweet smile aims to his left as the dancer loosely moves to an unhearable rhythm. It doesn’t take a whole genius to know who the only person who can ever make Jonghyun that relaxed and playful in the practice room is.

“Fuck!” 

Minhyun’s phone almost slips from his grasp. His stylist gasps and jerks back from his face. He catches her trembles in the corner of his eye but all he does is stare at Jonghyun’s post. The figure spinning around with Jonghyun keeps moving and moving, and he does nothing but watch like he’s hypnotized.

How fucking irritating. 

Minhyun clicks the side of his phone, and the screen blinks to a void black. A brief reflection stares back at him, furrowed brows marring his skin. He sighs before placing his phone on the desk, the case containing Aaron’s drawing of him facing towards the ceiling for all to see.

“Min… ” A meek voice floats to his attention. He turns his gaze to the mirror, and it’s his stylist still standing stone still. He can even sniff out the thin waves of fear surrounding him like incense. He shivers, only slightly ashamed that he can’t help his ego bristling.

“Ah,  _ noona _ , sorry for scaring you,” Minhyun says. His voice rumbles and softens, her shoulders already drooping low once his purring apologies reach her ears. She opens the compact again, and even if he did try to make himself as small as possible, Minhyun can still see stray powder flying off into the air when her shaking fingers near his face.

Minhyun lowers his eyes to the ground and continues, “it’s just… Dongho was wearing my jacket, that’s all. He basically stole it from me, you know. It was very expensive.” 

He hears his stylist hum a soft understanding. There’s less fear clouding his nose, so he knows his little lie must have worked. 

“You shouldn’t act like that over a jacket, Min,” she replies in a clipped tone. 

“I’m sorry,  _ noona _ . I’ll try to control myself next time.”

She sighs, and it becomes silent in the dressing room. He’s ashamed once again.

Perhaps he hates being scolded, his head is still downcast towards the ground, but he really can’t help himself when it comes to Dongho. Minhyun showed his advances  _ first _ . He invited Dongho out to lunches, messaged him “good morning” and “good night” every day and evening, even tried to get his hands on him as much as possible. 

Minhyun loves him, Minhyun wants him, Minhyun  _ craves _ him.

_ Fuck Jonghyun. I’ll rip into Dongho’s neck before he can even step foot towards my mate. I’ll fucking own him. _

Minhyun swallows heavily. It’s a little bit dangerous when he starts breathing just a bit too heavily.

“I’ll buy you that jacket next time if it makes you feel better,” his stylist catches his attention. Her nimble fingers are smoothing down his newly dyed hair, and there’s suddenly a little smile on her face.

Minhyun observes her relaxed demeanor, takes note of how simple downcast eyes and a soft voice can lull her into forgetting he almost tore the whole room up. 

“It’s okay,” he replies, “I’ll get it myself. Thank you anyway,  _ noona _ .” He locks eyes with her in the mirror and tries to mirror her soft grin. Her eyes lift up and she lightly pats his head like a mother does to her child.

How interesting.

“Minhyun! You’re up next!” 

The random head that pops in quickly retracts and he’s left scrambling to throw on his jacket as his stylist finishes the last touches of hairspray. Minhyun picks up the mic left on the table, gives himself a once-over in the mirror, and leaves to the backstage. Dongho slips off into a corner of his mind, and it quiets enough until he hears the screams of fans rather than his own voice. He breathes out relief. Anything to get his one obsession out of his head.

  
  


Dongho is definitely in love.

He’s dreamt of this moment for years. Falling in love perfectly, the dates, the hugs, the raw feeling of being so in love he feels like drowning in sweet cotton candy. No matter how many times Mingi looked at him with a sense of exasperation when he went on rambling about the  _ perfect  _ love, Dongho still managed to fall into his own fantasy.

The only thing is, as he ponders the thought every night, he’s not really sure  _ who _ he’s in love with. Dongho cringes at how greedy he sounds every single time he thinks about them, about how they get his heart racing so much that may be the day he finally keels over from how fast it’s beating. It may be too much to be in love with one man, but two? 

He’s in way over his head.

Dongho fiddles with his thumbs and a blanket gripped hard between his fingers as he lays in bed. He’s turned on to his back a long minute ago after spending so much time on his side just thinking that he has an ache now.

“Fuck,” Dongho says to the white ceiling, he’s so fucking tired, “I love them, don’t I?”

It isn’t hard to prove, because just a single thought of Minhyun holding onto his shoulder or Jonghyun feeding him a piece of candy gets his heart turning to sticky molasses and it tastes just a bit too sweet for him, loving two alphas. He loves them, he loves them, it’s so easy to say he loves exactly (one) Hwang Minhyun and (one) Kim Jonghyun.

Dongho flings the blanket to his side, feeling more awake than ever now that he’s stuck in his own cycle of indecision. Even though the night’ll end like it always does, with him slowly closing his eyes and none of his thoughts cleared, he’ll still spend a couple of moments pondering on it, just because. 

Exactly…  _ who does he love _ ?

It’d be so easy to finally respond to Minhyun’s advances. Minhyun’s so blatant, so obvious, when he even speaks to Dongho that he thinks it wouldn’t take more than a day for him to gain Minhyun’s sole attention for the rest of his life.

It’d be easy, and it’d be pleasant. 

Because the way Minhyun stares at him like Dongho carries the world with just a spin of his fingertips gets him flying so high he feels  _ more  _ than just what people tell him he should be. When Minhyun lets Dongho lead the alpha wherever he wants to go, Dongho feels more in control of his head in just a few hours than his whole twenty-five years of living. Even the little things have Dongho’s head and heart heading up to space: letting Dongho order their drinks, taking Minhyun’s pictures, petting Minhyun’s hair and neck (so,  _ so _ close to his bond spot), it all has Dongho falling just an inch more into the pit that is Minhyun.

And when they had visited the small noodle restaurant near the company building, all Minhyun did was sit back. Dongho ordered for them, allowed Minhyun to serve him, paid for the meal, and when they walked out (shoulder to shoulder), Dongho asked Minhyun what he was doing.

“What’s wrong with it?” Minhyun had shrugged and smiled. “You’re bigger than what you’re seen as, Dongho-yah. I won’t stop you from wanting more.”

Loving Minhyun seems so easy the more he nods off into his fantasy. Being with someone who doesn’t treat him like a ragdoll, someone who’s willing to stand on equal footing with him or maybe even allowing Dongho to climb on a higher pedestal, it all seems idealistic. It’s a power trip, and he’s so close from picking up the phone and confessing straight to the man, but his fingers stay stiff against the sheets. 

Because he also loves Jonghyun. And it’d be so easy to stay in love with that man as well.

If Dongho thought it was easy to let himself be  _ more _ than just some unconventional omega with Minhyun, it’s equally as easy as letting himself be  _ exactly _ what he was born as with Jonghyun. When Dongho talks to Jonghyun, laughs with Jonghyun, even  _ sits _ with Jonghyun, it’s like he can just fall, and there’d be no doubt Jonghyun would catch him. Jonghyun’s the arm that holds him up from the endless pit he digs himself into at times, the ladder that lets him see the sun when he wants to, and the pillow he leans back on when he’s just tired from it all. 

Minhyun stares at him like he holds the world with one hand, but Jonghyun looks at him like he’s willing to shoulder that world for Dongho.

When they went on that camping trip just two seasons ago, when the trees bloomed beautifully and the sun still shone even in the latest of hours, it wasn’t Dongho, the one who had infinitely more knowledge in these activities, who led the trip but Jonghyun. Jonghyun who bought all of the necessities and groceries, who helped set up the tent and light the campfire, and who listened on and on when Dongho decided midnight was the perfect time to unload all of his troubles into the empty night sky. 

“I feel like I have to be  _ more  _ than just some omega. Like I have to work twice as hard to even lose this stupid title,” Dongho had complained, holding a metal skewer dripping with melted marshmellow. He watched Jonghyun ponder before nibbling on his own treat.

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Jonghyun then replied, “You’re you, and really, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to be you.”

And it wouldn’t be hard to be himself, biology included, with Jonghyun. Growing old with Jonghyun’s unfading teeth marks on his neck, wrapping himself under Jonghyun’s arm when the world gets just a bit too cold, their scents clouding together in their home, and their hand always entangled together. It’s so  _ warm _ to think about.

Dongho groans, flings onto his back, and closes his eyes. It’s all a headache at this point. He knows even if he chose one, it’d be practically impossible to forget the other, and he never wants to hurt them. So, it should be easiest to stay friends. 

As Dongho falls asleep and his conscious fades to a buzz, his last thought is that it’s always easier said than done.

* * *

“Dongho, I like you.”

Everyone in the room freezes. Minhyun, fiddling with his thumbs while standing next to Dongho, continues pursing his lips and staring directly at the omega.

“What?”

Minhyun sighs before muttering again, “I like you. As more than a friend.” Silence.

“What the fuck? Why the fuck would you say that right now?” Jonghyun calls out from the couch. He sits up from his spot, his spine standing rigid and tense when he sees Minhyun move closer to Dongho.

“I just couldn’t hold it in anymore,” Minhyun says even if there’s not a single ounce of apology in his face, “my feelings for Dongho are too strong to ignore.” He turns towards Dongho who stands silently with red cheeks. “I like you.”

“Yah, idiot. Don’t put him on the spot like that.  _ Especially _ not in front of me,” Jonghyun icily says as he heaves himself up from the couch and stomps towards the pair. He stops in front of Minhyun and looks disapprovingly at the alpha.

“I’m just telling him how I feel. It shouldn’t be a problem,” Minhyun barks back, “unless you like him, too?” Minhyun raises a challenging brow which only serves to piss Jonghyun off even more. So he just started this to get back at Jonghyun? Steal  _ his _ omega from right under his fucking nose? Jonghyun feels his nerves boil.

“And how would you know that?” Jonghyun grits his teeth. Minhyun smiles.

“You’re so obvious, it’s really embarrassing.”

“Don’t talk back to me, bastard,” Jonghyun shouts back, sorely offended once Minhyun taunts the older alpha, “Don’t forget who taught you basic manners when all you were was just a little fuck running around undisciplined.” Jonghyun chuckles lowly, like it isn’t even that funny to him and he’s just aching to instead lash out at the younger alpha. He snides, “Poor fucking excuse for an alpha nowadays, huh?”

Minhyun stills in his movements, and if the room wasn’t so silent, Jonghyun and Dongho wouldn’t have heard the man take in multiple small breaths like he was holding in all of his might in that body. 

“Me? A poor alpha?” Minhyun starts ironically laughing, pitches higher than Jonghyun but still as rage-filled. It’s unnerving to watch how robotically he moves as he tries so hard not to lunge directly on Jonghyun.

“Jonghyun,  _ stop _ ,” Dongho pleads. He really doesn’t want to watch these two fight and eventually have to pull them off. It’s one thing to argue over something small and simple but to fight over alpha pride is plain nasty. And he isn’t even a part of it. How fucking lame. Dongho pulls on Jonghyun’s arm, and it almost works when he softens his body just a fraction at Dongho’s touch.

“Are you even a real alpha?”

It’s pure silence once Minhyun lets his bottled up emotions out into a single question. Dongho gulps, because he knows just how shitty it is when status is questioned, and it’s even worse when he knows this is coming from the young alpha Jonghyun cared for for years. 

“Jonghyun, don’t let him get to you,” Dongho tries to plead again, even if the grip on the alpha’s arm is weak because,  _ fuck _ , it’s almost terrifying how he can taste Jonghyun’s sharp anger. But, it doesn’t really work when Jonghyun suddenly rips his arm out of Dongho’s gasp and gets right up to Minhyun’s face. 

Jonghyun’s only 176 centimeters tall, barely coming up to Minhyun’s forehead, but it’s not like height matters when Minhyun’s eyes start wavering against Jonghyun’s glare. After all, Jonghyun trained him ( _ them _ ), and it’ll always be fucking scary when Jonghyun gets mad.

“Did you just ask me that?” Jonghyun asks in the straightest tone of voice Dongho’s ever heard on him. It’s even worse than when nineteen year old Minhyun would growl against Jonghyun and the older alpha would grab tight onto Minhyun’s shoulders and squeeze like he could gain life from it. It’s much,  _ much _ worse.

Minhyun gulps, and his adam’s apple bobs slowly before just a hint of resolve swims through his eyes.

“I said, are you--”

“Minhyun-ah,” Jonghyun pauses to keep his eyes locked with Minhyun’s, trying to psych out the younger alpha, “Why are you asking me that when you act like a spineless bitch yourself?”

“Jonghyun, what the fuck!” Dongho raises his voice, even if every nerve in his body wants to cower under Jonghyun’s feet. 

“W-what?” Minhyun sounds small, confused, the anger losing out the more his respected alpha bears down on him.

“Minhyun, don’t answer him,” Dongho huffs, stomping his way over to the glowering pair and yanking on Minhyun’s wrist. He doesn’t even spare Jonghyun a glance before he turns his back and starts marching away, Minhyun in tow. The alpha barely moves, still stuck in some weird trance of humiliation and subordination, so all he does is weigh Dongho down from moving.

“Dongho,” Jonghyun’s voice calls out behind Dongho’s back, “if you leave with him, then you must really hate being an omega, huh.”

Dongho grits his teeth so hard they should be cracking at this point. Who the fuck was Jonghyun to assume anything about him? But the way he loosens his grip on Minhyun’s wrist tells otherwise, and he hates it.

“You hate the idea of being with an alpha that much? With  _ me _ ? You always feel like you have to prove  _ something _ to the world, but it’s so fucking useless. You’re not obligated to be different, you know.”

“He…” Minhyun says in a quiet voice behind Dongho, “he doesn’t have to be different, but what if he wants to? So why don’t you back off and let him be?” 

“No. Because I know what he wants, and I’m not letting a neck-baring junior take that away from me.”

Dongho feels Minhyun’s wrist break away from his grasp before he feels arms wrap around his waist tightly. A nose worms its way to the back of his neck, and Minhyun starts rubbing his skin all over Dongho’s bond mark. It’s quick and rushed, probably because of the increasingly volatile alpha storming his way towards them and roughly yanking Minhyun off of Dongho, but it’s already done. Minhyun’s scent clouds onto Dongho’s, and the mixture wafts into the air for anyone to smell.

“I’m going to fucking break you,” Jonghyun roars at Minhyun before he throws a punch at the younger’s jaw. A sick  _ crack! _ rings out in the room before Minhyun yelps and throws his hands up to nurse a red jaw. Dongho startles out of the scenting before throwing himself in front of Jonghyun.

“Fucking  _ stop _ , Jonghyun!”

The older alpha’s standing there with his fists clenched to his sides. He looks undistinguishable at this point, like someone all three of them don’t know. Dongho’s never seen Jonghyun this angry in his life, and it terrifies Dongho to the point of shaking.

Jonghyun takes several deep breaths, still coming down from his blind rage and the disgust of Minhyun and Dongho’s intermingled scents, before going slack. Minhyun’s still hunched over and rubbing at his injured jaw, so all that’s heard is his almost silent whimpering and Jonghyun’s heavy breathing.

“I’m sorry, Dongho.”

“Don’t apologize to me,” Dongho reminds Jonghyun. Jonghyun doesn’t reply. 

Dongho sighs exasperatedly. He’s so tired of them both, tired of Minhyun’s scent trailing his, sick of Jonghyun’s eyes constantly shifting towards Minhyun in anger,  _ done _ with dealing with these dumb feelings constantly.

“I like you too, Minhyun.” 

The shifting stops. Dongho watches Jonghyun’s face drop immediately. 

“But, I like you too, Jonghyun-ah.”

He hears both of them suck in a breath. He knows it’s not exactly what they want to hear right now, but he’s just so tired of hiding his feelings and even more tired of watching them fight for his attention every single second.

“How,” Jonghyun pauses before swallowing the giant nervous ball in his throat, “how would  _ that _ work?” They’re all thinking about it. It’s almost impossible to function like that, two alphas and an omega. Sooner or later they’ll get too tense, and it won’t be long until they rip into each other’s throats for Dongho.

Dongho shrugs before saying, “It either does or it doesn’t. But, I like you both  _ so  _ much, and I don’t ever want to choose. I’d rather not have either of you than have to choose one of you.” 

He trails off on his thoughts before it becomes silent in the room again. It’s incredibly tense in the small room, almost to the point where Dongho just wants to run off and escape the stifling awkwardness between the three of them. He bites his lip and stays instead, watches Jonghyun’s face fall flat and undeciding.

“Well,” Minhyun suddenly voices out from his hunched position, voice a little strained from his aching jaw, “I think we should try.” It takes a couple seconds before Minhyun can manage another statement, “I really like Dongho, so I’ll take whatever I can fucking get at this point. Even if I have to share with a controlling alpha.”

Jonghyun scowls again at Minhyun’s unnecessary comment but eventually relaxes his face. He might as fucking well.

Jonghyun looks absolutely  _ tired _ when he finally says, “Me too.” He makes it a point to heavily emphasize, “This is for Dongho  _ only _ . Don’t expect me to hit on you, asshole.”

Dongho rolls his eyes.

“Like I’d ever want you to,” Minhyun snides back, like he always does and always will.

* * *

“You were so immature.”

“You were too.”

“You literally growled at me for even talking to him. That was pathetic.”

“Don’t let me remind you of when you almost knotted your pants after he bought you a fucking donut, Minhyun.”

“I was  _ nineteen _ !”

Minhyun flops down onto the couch in a silent huff, his arms folded foolishly across his chest. Jonghyun’s walking around aimlessly in the kitchen as he waits for the water to boil, the ramen packets laid out on the counter next to the stove. Their conversation falls to a low silence as they once again refrain from nagging at each other. Minhyun picks at some stray lint on his sweater while the soft boiling goes on in the background.

“Where is he? I’m tired of talking to you already,” Minhyun mutters.

“He’s just in the bathroom. Calm down already,” Jonghyun replies. The water starts simmering, and he opens the vegetable packets to dump in with the noodles. The crackling of the packets stirs Minhyun’s stomach, and it calls out to the room. Jonghyun rolls his eyes before turning towards the couch.

“Come help me if you want some ramen.”

Minhyun lights up, a smug grin plastered on his face before he hops up from the couch and makes his way to the kitchen. He grabs three bowls and three pairs of chopsticks, plopping them down next to the stove and staring patiently at Jonghyun.

“And don’t stare at me while I’m cooking. It’s disgusting.”

Minhyun’s robotic laugh echoes throughout the house.

“What are you guys doing?”

Dongho treads into the kitchen. Loose sweatpants and Minhyun’s tee-shirt wrap around his body, and his hair lays in curls wildly on his head. A damp towel lays around his neck, the humidity of the shower clinging onto his skin.

Both Jonghyun and Minhyun stare at him, none of them replying to his question, and Dongho becomes self-conscious. He scoots over to the stove, facing Jonghyun as the pot begins to boil over.

“I think you can add the powder now,” Dongho points out. He purses his lips at the useless stares he gets before picking up the packets himself and opens them, dumping the spicy contents into the pot.

Dongho watches the water come down to a simmer again when he feels two pairs of arms wrap around his waist and two pairs of lips press to the sides of his neck. He smiles.

“I told you he uses my shampoo,” Jonghyun mumbles into his skin on his left. The unmistakable fragrance of Jonghyun’s expensive shampoo clings around Dongho’s head, filling Jonghyun with a fine warmth he can never describe.

“Well, he’s wearing  _ my _ shirt,” Minhyun retorts from his right. 

“Yeah, yeah, and I have both of your bites on my neck, now shut  _ up _ already,” Dongho groans before picking up a set of chopsticks to stir the softening noodles. The pair of lips move their way to the back of his neck, two almost identical darkening marks decorating his skin for all to see.

“And have this little shit back-talk me more?” Jonghyun snorts as he mouths the mark he bit into Dongho’s neck. The older alpha presses slow, languid open-mouthed kisses against the purple bruise, the tiniest presses of tongue against wet skin slicking up the surface.

“And Dongho’s still going to wear my shirt at the end of the day,” Minhyun’s muffled retort tickles against the own alpha’s mark on Dongho’s skin. The younger alpha chastely kisses his own smaller purple mark. Minhyun’s dry lips feel warm and real against Dongho’s neck, a tamer way of showing his own love.

Dongho feels his neck warm up at the attention, and his heart starts beating against his chest madly. As he continues picking at the chewy noodles in boiling water and the lips continue moving all over his skin, he almost giggles at how  _ perfectly  _ everything went. 

He’s in love. He’s bonded to who he loves. He’s just  _ him _ , no one and nothing else. God, it’s fucking  _ perfect _ . He’s… happy. The Dongho who tossed and turned in his bed endlessly worrying over who he would love for the rest of his life fades off into nothingness, because the Dongho who spends his nights cuddled up to  _ both _ of his alphas, receiving the softest of kisses every morning, becomes his reality. 

In the end, Jonghyun is definitely in love, Minhyun is definitely in love, and Dongho was and always will definitely be in love.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> twt @ifwithoutlove
> 
> <3


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